Susana López Charretón is a Mexicanvirologist specialized in understanding the mechanisms of infection of rotavirus. Dr. López Charretón has led a as principal investigator at the Biotechnology Institute in Cuernavaca, Mexico for over 25 years. From 2000 to 2010 she was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholar. In 2012, Dr. López Charretón received the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science - Latin America "for identifying how rotaviruses cause the death of 600,000 children each year".
Dr. López Charretón has led her as principal investigator at the Biotechnology Institute in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Dr. López Charretón serves as a mentor for master's and PhD students, and currently holds a level III investigator status. Throughout her career, Dr. López Charretón has made advancements in our understanding of rotavirus.One of the most important findings from Dr. López Charretón research group is related to viral entry into a human body. Rotavirus is spread through the mouth and skin, but the virus leaves those cells alone and only infects and reproduces in cells in the small intestine. She’s published more than 130 papers in international journals. She also spent nearly nine years serving on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Virology. From 2000 to 2010 she was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholar.
Awards and recognition
Dr. López Charretón won the from UNAM in 1988 for her PhD research. In 1991, she was a . Dr. López Charretón won the Funsalud Biennial Award in Gastrointestinal Diseases from the Mexican Foundation for Health in 2000 and 2002. In 2001, she was awarded the Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In 2000, Dr. López Charretón became an International Research Scholar with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute providing funding for the potential for transformative impact of her rotavirus research. In 2010, HHMI asked Dr. López Charretón what she would do to change the world in one year. She responded, “I would invest that year in convincing people who make enormous amounts of money to donate just a small part of their earnings to make a well-administered foundation, with the sole purpose of ensuring that every child in underdeveloped countries has access to all available vaccines, independent of their cost, and to guarantee that these children are nourished properly during the first five years of their lives. This would help give a fair start in life to the people born in underdeveloped nations.” In 2012, Dr. López Charretón won the LÓréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science, a prestigious prize given to only one woman scientist per continent each year. Dr. López Charretón won the award for Latin America for “identifying how rotaviruses cause the death of 600,000 children each year.” That same year, she was also awarded the Omecihuatl Medal from the Women’s Institute of Mexico City. In 2013, Dr. López Charretón received the "" for Natural Sciences research.
Personal life
She was a co-recipient of both the 2001 Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology and the 2008 TWAS Prize in Biology. Dr. López Charretón and her husband have two children, Rodrigo and Alejandra. She lives in Mexico City and defines herself as "very Mexican".
